NEW FAIRFIELD -- The general school of thought seemed to be the Wilton field hockey team would be upset about having to play Darien so early in this year's state Class M field hockey tournament.

Truth be told, if you consider Tuesday's first-round whupping of New Fairfield as a measuring stick, it seemed as though the Warriors couldn't wait to get there.

Wilton scored 30 seconds into the game and never looked back en route to a 4-0 white-washing of the Rebels.

The ninth-seeded Warriors' victory -- coupled with No. 1 Darien's 9-0 laugher over No. 16 North Haven -- sets up a quarterfinal showdown between two of the strongest field hockey programs in the state.

One year ago, the two squads met for the state championship. This year, fate hooked them up even earlier. Game is scheduled for Thursday at 2 p.m.

"I did want to see them again and I'm glad we are," said Wilton head coach Deidre Hynes, whose team has suffered two 3-0 losses to the Blue Wave this season. "We didn't want New Canaan to upset them in the FCIAC finals. If a team is going to do it, we want to be the team to do it. We've got a lot to answer for because of the last two years and a majority of these players have seen them the last two years.

"I'm sure they're not too excited to see us, too," Hynes added.

To get there all Wilton had to do was brush aside New Fairfield.

Thirty seconds into the game, the Warriors started to do just that as Ally Bruschi set up Amy Drummond for the goal that put Wilton on top 1-0.

"We always feel like if we can get the first goal right off the bat, we're more comfortable and we can take control of the game," said Drummond.

Nearly 11 minutes later, Julianne Tangney put a ball on net and Sheridan Finnie was there to redirect it as Wilton took a 2-0 lead on the Rebels.

Time out , New Fairfield.

"Falling behind in the first 30 seconds was tough," said New Fairfield head coach Dawn Hough. "I just think they were a little mystified by Wilton's stickwork. I can honestly say we haven't seen anything like that and I think we play in a pretty competitive league. I think it was intimidating to us because we hadn't seen it before."

While Wilton controlled play through the first half, it simply dominated the second.

"We learned that a two-goal lead isn't a lead," said co-captain Ali Rutishauser, referring to Wilton's 3-2 overtime win over Norwalk in the FCIAC tournament. "It was definitely a learning experience for us to keep going and trying to score, no matter what."

The Warriors had 12 penalty corner opportunities (16 total for the game) and pepped the Rebels cage with shots, forcing New Fairfield goaltender Maeghan Robidoux into making 13 saves in the game.

Midway through the second half, the Warriors made it 3-0 on a corner.

Danielle Noonan started the attempt, setting up Tangney for a point-blank shot for 17 yards out. Robidoux made that initial stop as well as a rebound follow-up before Drummond slapped home her second goal of the game.

On another corner with 8:06 to play, Noonan got the ball to the top of the circle to Ali Rutishauser, whose shot was tipped in on the fly by Christie Roberts to make it 4-0, Warriors.

Wilton's defense -- Brooke Pantaleo, Noonan and Rutishauser -- were as strong as it has been all season, limiting goaltender Steph Fricke to only having to make two saves.

"Brooke, Ali and Noonan have been a constant force the whole season," said Hynes. "They're just a solid line. They have been all season and they were again tonight."

Hynes was also impressed with how her team kept attacking, even with the big lead.

"It's the state tournament and we know anything can happen," she said. "We knew we had to play 60 minutes tonight."

Now on Thursday, Wilton gets 60 more minutes this season -- against rival Darien in the quarterfinals.

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